The Secret of White Dahlia
by Sandylee007
Summary: After a rough case Spencer Reid vanishes. Ten months later the distraught team is shown surveillance footage of a man with the genius' exact appearance killing ten people. What happened to Reid? And is he beyond salvation? REID WHUMP
1. Prologue

A/N: SO… This story idea was once a part of my ANCIENT poll. Now it's decided to start gaining a spark of life. (grins) BUT, before letting you check it out…

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE! See any cows flying? Yeah, 'thought so. I DREAM of owning something (and who wouldn't dream of spending some time with Reid…?) but sadly that's all. My bank account just isn't fat enough.

WARNINGS: adult themes, violence, language… ya, know, the usual funny stuff…

RATED M because I prefer not limiting my options…

Awkay, because I've been stalling long enough… Let's go! I really, really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

* * *

 ** _The Secret of White Dahlia_**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

"And you're sure that he's what we've been looking for?"

"Yes." A thick file was pushed forward on a shiny desk that'd been made of expensive wood. "This is all his data. The team believes that he'd fit the program perfectly."

A pair of dark chocolate brown eyes narrowed, then gazed at the papers. Each bit of information was skimmed through slowly, each word evaluated critically. The sounds of the paper rustling and their breathing were the only noises heard in the room for almost ten minutes. Then, finally, the file was snapped closed. "Can any difficulties be expected?"

"He'll be resistant." Brutally honest, as always. Nothing less would've been appreciated. "The team sent to retrieve him must be chosen carefully. It won't be easy to… persuade him."

"I see." A thoughtful frown appeared. "Prepare the team. And tell them to be… discreet. We wouldn't want to this to get unwanted attention."

"Understandable enough." The steps began to retreat. Slow and steady. Ominous.

"Oh, and do keep in mind…" The tension could've been cut by a knife. "No mistakes this time. Cleaning up after Seattle was a horrible workload."

* * *

It was one of those cases that Spencer wished would just end. Five young women, barely even adults, had lost their lives because of a sixty-year-old schizophrenic man seeing his decades since deceased daughter in them. It took them just a little too long to reach the killer. Exactly ten minutes too long for the final victim.

The whole thing… It hit a little too close to home for Spencer. Because some of the words he heard from the killer's mouth were such his own mom uttered during her darkest days.

The metro ride didn't seem to ever end. Spencer fidgeted with discomfort as he became all too aware of the far too many people around him. It didn't help that a mighty headache seemed to be creeping in. The tricks he learned from Maeve to control the discomfort hadn't worked quite as well after her death.

And why couldn't he shake off the feeling that someone was watching him?

He literally bumped into three people on his way out of the metro. The rest of the route home was full of blur. Vaguely Spencer registered himself struggling to find the keys. He also listened as empathetically as humanly possible as his elderly neighbor complained about the too loud intimate life of the young couple next door from her. As soon as Spencer made it to the safety of his apartment he released a long, shuddering sigh of relief, only then realizing how badly his hands were shaking. At that exact second he decided that he needed coffee. A lot of it, the stronger the better.

While waiting for the liquid gold to be ready to get devoured Spencer checked his cell phone. Five missed phone calls. Two new text messages. He must've been even more preoccupied than he'd thought to not have noticed those earlier. The first one of the messages was from Derek, the second from JJ.

' _'Hope you made it home safely. Try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning._ '

' _I know that this case was tough on you. If you feel like it call me, at any time. Henry told me to say 'Hi' to his favorite profiler._ '

Spencer wasn't sure if he should've been amused, touched or irritated. He decided to respond to both texts later. At the moment coffee was a priority.

With an almost purr-like sigh of contentment Spencer poured coffee to the massive mug Penelope once bought him as a gift. There was a greedy look in his tired eyes while they scanned through his book shelve, wondering which one he should choose to help him relax. That task captured his attention to a point where it took him five seconds too long to realize that the coffee didn't taste right. He frowned.

 _What…?_

And then realization dawned, crashed on him like a ton of bricks. His eyes widened as a gasp slipped through his slightly parted lips. The mug froze right by his mouth.

At first Spencer didn't realize that the voice speaking all of a sudden was actually there. Right behind him. It closed around him with the shadows, seeming to trap him. "Evening, agent Reid. We have much to discuss. But I'm afraid that you may not have the time for it…"

* * *

The following morning the BAU-team began to march into the office, one by one. Aaron had promised them a day off but they all needed something to do. Something that'd help them let go of the nightmare they were just pulled into.

David arched an eyebrow when Derek stormed into the same elevator with him. There was a positively murderous look on the younger man's face and it had nothing to do with lack of sleep. "Rough night?" he suggested.

Derek groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "A fight with Savannah." He glared at the numbers that signaled the floors passing by. "Her bad day clashed with mine."

David winced. "Been there, done that." They'd almost reached their destination. "Did she start throwing things?"

Derek gave him a funny look. "No. But there was a lot of shouting involved. I'm pretty sure that my neighbors had fun listening."

David hummed. There was a small 'ding', signaling that they were at the correct floor. "You two will get through it", the senior agent declared.

"How would you know?"

The doors opened. David gave him a wistful look. "Three ex-wives. I'd consider myself an expert when it comes to points of no turning back. You're not there."

Derek felt tempted to pry further until the sight they encountered nearly made blood freeze into his veins. JJ, Alex and Penelope were already there waiting for them, grim looks on their faces. Aaron stood before the women, appearing even more somber than usual. It was entirely too easy to notice that someone was missing.

David tensed up and froze. Derek's lips opened. Aaron beat him to it. "We need to have a team meeting." The unit chief took a deep breath. "Earlier this morning I received resignation papers from Reid."

* * *

TBC

* * *

A/N: And that's how we begin. What in the world happened to Reid? Who are those people after him? And what happens next? Would you like to find out? PLEASE, do let me know!

Good? Bad? Deletion worthy? The word's yours! (grins nervously)

In any case, thank you so much for reading! (I seriously almost typed reiding…) I've really gotta go now. Maybe I'll see you guys later…?

Take care!


	2. Missing

A/N: I'M BAAACK! And so is this story. AT LAST! I'm SO SORRY that it took me this long! I sort of lost my way to 'CM' for a while. But now I'm back, and INSANELY happy about it. Hopefully you're happy to see me, too.

THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for all your reviews, listings and love! They're what brought this story and my inspiration back, and I can't thank you enough. (HUGS)

Awkay, it's high time we move on with the story! The chapter is quite tiny, I'll admit. BUT, I hope that it's still worth the wait!

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Missing

* * *

On February 9th Dr. Spencer Reid was gone. He left behind a letter of resignation, nothing else. No goodbyes, no items to remember him, and certainly no explanation. A blink, and he was gone. It was like some sick magic trick.

The team refused to believe that, of course. While Penelope did whatever digging she could with her computer and Aaron decided to have a spontaneous meeting with chief Cruz JJ and Derek headed towards the genius' apartment. Only to discover that all of Spencer's possessions had been retrieved earlier that morning. The only thing left to remind of the apartment's inhabitant was the already distant scent of coffee and books.

What happened to Spencer?

JJ shook her head with a stricken look on her face. "He wouldn't leave us. Not like this. He wouldn't just…" She trailed off, a lump forming in her throat.

Spencer wouldn't just leave them, or Henry, without saying goodbye or explaining why.

"JJ." The tone of Derek's voice got to her a lot more effectively than the words. It was full of shock and carried a slight tremor.

JJ turned around slowly, unsure if she really wanted to know. First she saw the emotional turmoil on Derek's face. Then the used syringe the man was holding.

No. No. _NO._ "He wouldn't…"

Derek nodded in agreement. "I know. We'll get this thing examined. And then we'll have evidence that Reid didn't leave willingly."

* * *

Going through Spencer's desk felt like a violation. Alex knew and understood that the team's youngest was a very private person. But they needed to figure out what made him leave, or who took him away, so there was little choice.

That she found several books, most of them old and only one written in English, was no surprise. Otherwise there wasn't much, just some neatly organized files and documents, and a handful of photographs hidden to a drawer. A few of them were of the team. One of him and his mom, both of them smiling. Definitely a reminder of happy times. The most heartbreaking discovery was the picture of Maeve. He must've handled it a lot, because the corners were wrinkled.

Or no. That was the second most heartbreaking discovery. The worst was the bottle of anti-depressants, two thirds of the pills consumed.

Spencer had been hiding it right there, almost out in the open. They would've all noticed if they looked carefully enough. Or maybe they just hadn't wanted to see.

At least Spencer had sought helped and accepted it. He faced one of his greatest fears and met up with a psychiatrist, no matter how much it had to make him feel like his mom. At least he was trying to get better. Or had been, anyway. Alex just wished that he'd shared this with them.

How was she supposed to not feel protective of him when every time she met his eyes she felt like she'd been looking at her son?

A coffee mug invaded her line of vision, startling her. "I had a feeling that you need this as much as I do." David stood beside her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Alex realized that she'd been staring at some unknown spot for a while. "Thanks." She sighed, accepting the beverage. "I'm just trying to make sense of this."

"We all are." David gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We'll bring him back home. And then we'll let him know exactly how little we appreciate being scared like this. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Alex actually managed a tiny smile at that.

"That's better." David smiled as well, even if it didn't reach his eyes. "Now let's go. Garcia had something she wanted to show us."

Penelope wasn't in tears when they entered her office a few minutes later but Alex could tell that the younger woman had been crying earlier. The computer genius had never been one to hide her emotions, which was one of her most endearing traits. Shock was clearly visible on Penelope's pale face. "I… I decided to take a look at his files. Not exactly legal, I know, but… but he's somewhere out there, lost, and I have to…"

"We understand", Alex interrupted gently. She nodded towards the computer screen, seeing a lot of files. "What did you find?"

"See those three files?" Penelope swallowed. "The level of security… It's insane. There's no way I'd ever get them open." And when she admitted that much…

Whatever those files were about, it was extremely high profile.

* * *

Unusual tension lingered between Aaron and Mateo as they sat to the latter's office. Aaron's eyes narrowed with suspicion and confusion when he searched the other's face. "Is this about Reid's resignation?" For some reason alarm bells went off in his head.

Mateo's eyes darkened and filled with apology as the section chief prepared himself with a deep breath. Obviously the man didn't like what he'd have to say. "Your team needs to stop trying to look for agent Reid." His mouth opened but Mateo was faster. "I understand that it's going to be difficult. But you need to leave it be, for the sake of his safety."

Disbelief and wrath coursed through Aaron. "He's a member of our team. You can't expect us to…!"

"You'll have to, agent Hotchner", a new voice came from behind him. Sharp and free of remorse. "If you want him to make it through this alive you'll forget that he exists."

* * *

The second Spencer began to wake up he realized that he was high. He hated it. He loved it. And then he hated it some more. A lot more.

His head buzzed and when he opened his eyes everything spun uncomfortably. He frowned, trying to will his head to clear faster. Thinking was what he did best, and the inability to process anything was terrifying.

What happened to him? Where was he? And why? What…?

"Well, how about that. I was expecting you to remain unconscious for longer but I should've known that you're too stubborn for that." The clap of high heels sounded uncomfortably loud. "Good morning, Spencer. Welcome to the Farm. And congratulations. You've been selected for project White Dahlia."

* * *

TBC

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the short chapter! BUT, I felt like it was important to include another smaller piece before the story REALLY goes BOOM. In the next chapter we'll jump ahead in time. We'll see just what'll happen to Reid there AND in the future… (gulps) Poor team! They want their youngest back so badly.

Soooo… Was that worth the wait, at all? PLEASE, do leave a note to let me know! It's been a LONG time and I'd love to hear from you.

Okay, time for me to get at least a little sleep. Until next time! Hopefully I'll see ya all there.

Take care!

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Guest (all four of you): GOSH, how happy it makes me that the next chapter is so longed for! I REALLY hope that this update lives up to the expectations.

Colossal thank yous for the reviews!


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